2012ApJ...759..146M

The Carnegie Hubble Program (CHP) is designed to calibrate the extragalactic distance scale using data from the post-cryogenic era of the Spitzer Space Telescope. The ultimate goal of the CHP is a systematic improvement in the distance scale leading to a determination of the Hubble constant to within an accuracy of 2%. This paper focuses on the measurement and calibration of the Galactic Cepheid period-luminosity (PL, Leavitt) relation using the warm Spitzer/IRAC 1 and 2 bands at 3.6 and 4.5 µm. We present photometric measurements covering the period range 4-70 days for 37 Galactic Cepheids. Data at 24 phase points were collected for each star. Three PL relations of the form M = a(log (P) - 1) + b are derived. The method adopted here takes the slope a to be -3.31, as determined from the Spitzer Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) data of Scowcroft et al. Using the geometric Hubble Space Telescope guide-star distances to 10 Galactic Cepheids, we find a calibrated 3.6 µm PL zero point of -5.80±0.03. Together with our value for the LMC zero point, we determine a reddening-corrected distance modulus of 18.48±0.04 mag to the LMC. The mid-IR period-color diagram and the [3.6]-[4.5] color variation with phase are interpreted in terms of CO absorption at 4.5 µm. This situation compromises the use of the 4.5 µm data for distance determinations.